The Bavarian Alps

So, I'm finally getting around to posting the pictures from our trip to southern Germany. We stayed in Garmisch, skied in Austria (well, the boys did - I watched Jordyn), and went to Neuschwanstein one day (Cinderella's Castle). We had a fantastic time and the boys are ready to go back. Landen was quite the skier and Matt couldn't keep up with him. Hayden did fairly well himself, although we couldn't check him into ski school because you have to be 5. He had a lot of fun playing in the snow and we all had a blast when we went sledding by Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein is rumored to be "Cinderella's Castle" in which Walt Disney modeled his Disneyworld castle. Jordyn LOVED sledding and cried every time the sled stopped. It took us about 7 hours each way and the kids did fantastic (to our surprise.) We got in a traffic jam on the way down that delayed us about an hour and a half, but other than that it was smooth sailing. I think the slide show is pretty self explanatory....

Oh, and yes, we have all "recovered" from that stomach bug :)

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday to Pawpaw (26th), Nicholas (27th) & Uncle Steve (30th)!!

Happy Birthday to you....

We love you :-)

The Joys of Mommyhood

Let's get this clear. I've never blogged at 2:21am before! I've always thought people were crazy for being on the computer in the middle of the night. Now, I'm joining the crowd.

So, we get home from our nice little trip (of which eventually, I will get the pictures and details posted) and have bags and bags to unpack and laundry to do. You know how it is after a trip. Well, the day after we get home I make a dent in the unpacking and get a load or two of laundry done. It was Matt's birthday so I had cooked him a nice breakfast that morning and chicken n' dumplings (ok, the Bisquick variety but he likes them!) and made him a cheesecake so that set me back a little time that day. Plus, Landen had basketball practice that afternoon. That night, we head to bed...

Jordyn wakes us up at 3:00 am vomiting. Poor thing. I get her and sleep on the couch with her the rest of the night. Well, I don't sleep, but I "rest" on the couch. At about 6:00 am, I start in myself. Only, it hits me at both ends if you know what I mean. That's always fun.... which end do I stick in the toilet first? So, we're sick the whole next day. Matt manages to get off work long enough to take Hayden to his new gymnastics class which he was so excited about. We make it through the day... Matt also takes the boys to Landen's first basketball game (which Landen scored 2 points and his team won 10 - 8.) Jordyn and I were asleep by the time they got home.

Ahhh.... I slept 12 hours. 12. Think I was tired? So, I get up today and lysol the house, clean the toilets, vacuum, keep every window open... begin to get a hold on the laundry which now includes sheets, throws and pillows that have been vomited on. Ahh... we're regaining normalcy around here! Jordyn still has some problems down below, but we are on the mend.

Wrong. About 5:00pm... Hayden says his stomach hurts. By 7:00pm, he's vomiting. If that's not enough, at about 9:00pm Matt starts. Yes, in case you wondering he's having the same issues - head or butt first? lol. Ahh.... so, he's in our bedroom and I'm sleeping on the couch again tonight.

I'm juggling 2 kids. Oh, whoops... did I mention that while running from Jordyn's room, into Hayden's room.... Landen yells, "Mom! " Yep! He's throwing up. And you know what he's worried about? He's gonna miss his basketball game in the morning. Oh, and he has diarrhea too. Now, I'm juggling 3.

So, that's why I'm sitting here blogging at 2:33am now. Thank God for 2 1/2 bathrooms in this house.

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Just wanted to tell you Happy Birthday, daddy! Here are some things I love about you....

Your inability to get lost - even in a foreign country
Watching you play with your kids - catch, riding bikes, wrestling & a little snuggling
The fact that you make it to every kids sports game possible
You don't complain when I ask you to bring home milk or supper
The fact that you can't sit still and relax more than a few minutes at a time
Your efficiency in packing the car - even in the rain
The famous "It'll make us stronger...." speech
Your ability to iron better than me
The fact that you enjoy Hollywood gossip and chick flicks as much as I do
Always dishing out compliments and telling me you love me

The list could go on and on, but I don't want your head to swell. lol

Happy 34th, honey!!! Sorry we are going to spend it at basketball practice tonight....

Off we go....

to the Bavarian Alps! We'll be back in a few days.....

Invasion

Mole? Gopher? We have visitors.

My little munchkin....

I mean Princess.

Better late, than never

I never really posted about our Christmas Eve and morning, so this is a little belated. As you know, we were kind of on our own this year. The whole holiday was nice and relaxed, without much hustle and bustle which was fun. We stayed in our pj's, drank hot chocolate, and ate lots of snacks. We also opened some fun presents from Grammy & Pawpaw, Aunt Terri, Uncle Derek & Aunt Shannon. Christmas Eve afternoon we took a nice long hike through the woods by our house. We are in a very rural area, so there are plenty of places to get lost in the woods! It had iced quite a bit the prior week and stayed cold enough so nothing had melted. Even though it wasn't a white Christmas, there was still ice on everything so it felt like a white Christmas and the woods were beautiful! We ended up being gone a little longer than we anticipated (almost 2 hours) but our goal was to tire the boys out a little and it seemed to work. By about 9:30 they were both fast asleep :) We didn't get to enjoy our usual, traditional Christmas Eve service this year which we all seemed to miss. We did try to discuss it with the kids and remind them of the true meaning and reason we celebrate. Its so easy to get lost in the shuffle of events, and forget what Christmas is all about. Here are my 3 Wise Men...


Santa was good to all of us on Christmas morning. Landen received Cube World, Hayden got heelies, and Jordyn a little ride-on that plays music. The boys got lots of Playstation 2 games, board games, football jersey's, and art supplies. Shopping for Jordyn was especially fun because I got to shop for "girly" toys. Mommy got an I-pod Nano, perfume and lots of books and clothes. Daddy got clothes, a watch, and a few other surprises. The kids are so much fun to watch opening their presents and being so proud of what they got. Jordyn acted like a pro, as if she knew exactly what to do. Hayden was a little off that morning. We could tell by his demeanor that something wasn't quite right. Within about 30 minutes of opening presents, he vomited, then was fine the rest of the day. I'm not sure if it was the excitement or what! Kids.



Two days after Christmas, Nana and Pops came for a nice (too short) visit. It was so nice to see some family and it made it feel a little more like Christmas. We waited until they got here for the kids to open their 5 million presents (nana didn't send as much this year, ha... ha...) from them. We had a nice Christmas dinner and enjoyed opening presents. Thank you Nana and Pop for watching the kids for us while we made a quick trip to Paris. In a foreign country, that's a little easier said than done!












Thank you to all of our family and friends who sent cards, food (yes, homemade!), emails, presents, and well wishes. We love you all and miss everyone! We had a great 2007 and sincerely hope you all have a fantastic and safe 2008.

Paris

Here's a slide show from Paris. We had a wonderful time and wish we could have stayed longer! We left on Sunday morning - drove about 4 - 4 1/2 hours to get there. We stayed Sunday night and Monday night, then drove back home Tuesday morning.

The start to our trip was our GPS cord breaking. Yikes! Over here, they are a must and we love our GPS. Despite that, we made it to our hotel and found a new cord to buy for it. We stopped at EuroDisney on the way in to scope out hotels for when we take the kids in the spring. Then, headed on into Paris. We went to the Eiffel tower that night and ate at the hotel restaurant. The next day we hit the pavement, and walked and walked and walked. We were both sore! (and yes, we have both been going to the gym) All the sites were magnificent. We didn't get to go inside anything because the lines were incredibly long. We wanted to make sure we got to see everything we could.

The most disappointing thing was New Years Eve. We were downtown under the Eiffel tower, awaiting a spectacular display at midnight. Well, midnight came and went, and nothing. The Eiffel tower lit up and sparkled just as it had done the 3 previous hours at the top of the hour and that was it. Done. People began to leave and we finally did about 12:20 or so. Then, chaos struck and people were pushing, shoving, etc. The subway was an adventure and we were crammed like sardines in the cab. They don't even charge on NYE for the subway rides because it is so chaotic. We later found out that the fireworks were cancelled due to terror threat reasons. Nice. We were right in the middle of it!

Enjoy and if you ever get the chance to go - you have to! We're ready to go back. A big thanks to Nana & Pops for keeping the kids so we could experience that together :)

Happy 2008!

Yes, we're still alive. I have lots to blog about, but right now I am tired. The Rowlands are here (we've had a great time) and Matt and I just got in from Paris. It was incredible!! I'll try to get a post up in the next couple of days..... check back soon! Here are a few pictures from various Christmas activities with the kids.